REVIEW : Nuclear Daydream - RoomThirteen

by Daniel Jones


A Fine Release

So it turns out that Joseph Arthur is doing the Connor Oberst thing and on September the 4th he will be releasing two new albums, "Nuclear Daydream" and "Let's Just Be". So which one to get? Is it both? Or is it neither? Well I can't help you so much with that, seeing as in my possession I only have a copy of one of the albums. But I am quite content with just this one.

"Nuclear Daydream" creeps out of your stereo like a lazy Sunday afternoon as Arthur's seemingly scene setting voice paints pictures of calm oceans and rings with vocal simplicity that is all too underrated. "Enough To Get Away" is to be Arthur's next single and its conversational like vocals tread tentatively above the delicate guitar that imposes no obstruction to what is intended to be a stripped down album with no added reverb.

Joseph Arthur's relaxed modern folk finesse is graceful on any stereo and the subtlety of his song writing sees a medley between Australia's Patrick Park and legendary Ryan Adams, but with slightly less angst and maybe a little less alcohol fuelled drama.

We begin to see Arthur's better side when he picks up the pace a little in a few tracks. The sound gradually increases and the yearning in his voice is more predominant, and it is these little glimmers of feeling that seep through the stale cracks in the album, which to be honest, come few and far between.